Policeman are human to.
I recently had the
privilege of going on my second ride along with the Police Department. This
ride along, though not my first, seemed to be more of an eye opener then
before. A few occurrences stood out to me throughout the day, though while not
heart thundering with excitement, they did hold a quiet weight of their own.
The thing about each of these experiences which struck me, was how human these
men and women are. They’re not so much different from us, and yet, they're
hated, ridiculed and shot. For what? Because they are trying to protect us.
I concede, there are some
cases where the Police were in the wrong. When they drew a gun and shot, and
committed one of the crimes they fight against. But does that make every
officer evil? People have been angry for years over the issue of racism. It is
a cruel thing to hate a person merely because of a skin color. I’m sure many
will agree with me that just because one dark-skinned person does something
wrong, it does not make every single dark-skinned person wrong. Often we see
the dark-skinned man as the one being placed behind bars. Yet also there are
the times during which a police officer is in need of help, and the person who
saves his life is a dark-skinned man. It’s a true story. An officer was being
attacked and beaten upon by a man who was high on drugs. His only weapon in
hand was a baton. From the sidewalk, a homeless black man charged and pulled
the attacker off of the officer, potentially saving his life. Simply because
one person has done something wrong, does not mean that everyone in their group
is wrong. One cannot hate dark-skinned humans. Likewise. One cannot hate police
officers simply because one of them did something wrong.
I read an analogy once.
The sheep live free, roaming and happy. Yet they are hunted and preyed upon by
the wolf. Between the wolf and the sheep stands the dog, straight and fearless.
The sheep do not like the dog, he appears to look to much like their enemy the
wolf. Likewise the wolf hates the dog, for he is the one thing who stands
between the sheep and the wolf. I’m sure you understand what I am getting at.
My point here is, and to
tie this back to my beginning statement, policemen are not wrong. They are in
fact doing a job many would not find the courage to do. They try to help us, to
protect us, and yet many of them face a bullet as their reward. They do not go
out looking for a fight. When they make a stop, they are stopping the driver
simply because maybe he was speeding, or his taillight was out. They do not
know if he has a gun. The first thing they know, is a flash of pain and warm
touch of blood as a bullet tears into them. Would you have the courage to step
from the safety of a trooper car, and walk up to a strange vehicle knowing that
could be your fate? A blinding flash of sunlight on metal, then the impact as
you hit the ground. That is what they possibly face, yet they still step from
that car each time. Why? They want to protect you.
Drugs may seem fun.
They're cool. They’re the top dog thing to do. They earn a lot of money. People
will pay big bucks for a packet of crack cocaine or a joint of marijuana. It’s
exciting to cart them around, to avoid the police and sell it under the table.
It brings in adrenaline and excitement, a human emotion. But it hurts yourself
and others. Many won’t even care. They do not stop to think of the damage they
are causing or of the potential lives they are taking. That is why the police
do what they do. They’re there to tell you to stop, to try and keep others
safe. At what cost? A possible bullet to their face. So many people will see
the police as evil, as being greedy or a group who kills the fun of taking a
joint and getting a thrill. But police are just as human as you and me. On my
ride along I saw this. I saw their calm acceptance of what may happen. We were
called to a burglary and need to clear the building. It was a canceled call,
but the door was wide open. The sergeant I rode with allowed me to follow some
five feet behind him as he cleared the building. It was empty, so we returned
to our vehicle after leaving another officer on scene to finish wrapping up the
situation. I later asked the sergeant a question. “What should I have done if
someone had been in there?” His calm reply. “I would place you behind me.
I’m wearing this after all.” As he spoke, he tapped his chest, and the bullet
proof vest he had on underneath.
His answer hasn’t left my
mind since.
The translation I
realized was this, he was willing to take a bullet and maybe even die, for me.
A girl he met only some fifteen to twenty minutes before. Now pause and ask
yourself this, would you do the same?
After my ride, an
experience that lasted from three o’clock in the afternoon to eleven at night,
I was given a brief glimpse into the humanity of these men I was allowed to
work with for one day. The officers going on duty and just coming off gathered
in the Squad Room. We had our two sergeants and three officers. In that room
they were as human as you and I. They made jokes, told stories and tried on one
another’s jackets to test the sizing. One lamented how long his jacket had
taken to come in, then find the size was wrong. They playfully argued as to
whether or not a park had a sign saying “This is the Park” when one didn’t know
the location of a house in the small city adjoining the one they patrolled. The
new sergeant lamented wanting a cup of coffee, while another saluted him with a
full, Styrofoam Dunkin’ Donuts cup and stated. “I’ve had this all day. It’s
like jet fuel.”
I consider myself greatly
privileged to have stood there between the seated sergeants, and laugh along
with their jokes, hear their different stories, and watch them banter among
themselves. What I saw was five men who had bonded through the hard work they
did, and lightened the burden for one another concerning the things they saw
day in and day out. They can be serious and business oriented, then in the
office during complete quiet, one will call out. “Hey, buddy! How many tickles
does it take to make an octopus laugh?”
These are the same men
who see suicide, self-harm, drug addicts and stalkers. They deal with arrests
and dangerous subjects. As one of them put it as I rode in the car with him.
“People call us for everything. If they don’t know what to do, they call us. We
do more serving than anything.” Yet these same officers who drive a vehicle
that says on the sides, “To protect and serve” are gunned down like a killer.
Consider this for a moment, just stop and ask yourself, how many more people
would have died early from drug overdoses without police? How many would have
been killed by a mass murderer had that policeman not done his job? How many
more people are now going to either be injured, scarred or dead, because of the
policeman who was making a normal traffic stop for no turn signal, just
whispered “Officer down.” Into his radio?
Those fifteen minutes in
the squad room after my ride along, and the less than sixty seconds when the
sergeant answered my question, are now some of the most treasured moments I have
in my memory. I ask you, do not judge these men and women in blue, who are but
simply trying to protect you. Now and then yes, one of them pulls a gun when he
should not have. But how many times have you made a mistake as well? Can you
claim to be under the same pressure every day that policemen are? I do not say
that they should be excused when they do something wrong. They must be
convicted of the crime if it is committed. Just the same way as the men they’ve
arrested were in the past.
All that I ask, is that
you do not hate them. Oh, and the answer to that joke, was tentacles.
No comments:
Post a Comment